The Art & Skill of Radio-Telegraphy
-Second Revised Edition-
William G. Pierpont N0HFF
ABT about NW now
AGN again OB old boy
ANT antenna OM old man
BCI broadcast interference OP operator
BCL broadcast listener OT old timer
BK break PSE please
C yes PWR power
CUD could R received as transmitted
CUL see you later RCD received
CUZ because RCVR receiver
CW continuous wave RFI radio freq. interference
(telegraphic code) RIG station equipment
DX distance RPT repeat; I repeat
ES and SED said
FB fine business; excellent SIG signal; signature
GA go ahead; good afternoon SKED schedule
GE good evening SRI sorry
GM good morning TMW tomorrow
GN good night TNX thanks
GND ground TVI television interference
GUD good TT that
HI high; laugh TU thank you
HR here UR your
HV have VY very
HW how WKD-WKG worked - working
LID poor operator WL well
MSG message WUD would
N no WX weather
NR number XMTR transmitter
XTAL crystal
XYL wife
YL young lady
AA all after NIL nothing; I have nothing for
AB all before you
ADR address PBL preamble
BN all between REF refer to
CFM confirm SINE opr's personal initials
CK check VC prefix to service message
DLD delivered TXT text
GBA give better address WA word after
MSG prefix to radiogram WB word before
WD word
The Phillips code was developed to bring the sending operators's skill up toward that of the receiving operator, who typically
could receive much faster than anyone could send by hand. Phillips code is a systematic, rigid system of abbreviations
used along with normal spelling of all other words, and cuts total transmission time about in half. There were about 6000
abbreviations under this long-used system. It was used in commercial press (news) transmissions. A skilled operator could
easily keep up, typing out the words in full as fast as the sender could hand send, but he did'nt dare let his mind wander.
Words were cut to their "backbone", leaving only the letters that carry the brunt of their pronunciation. See the list below
for how this was done. Abbreviated words were modified by, e.g., adding "d" for the past tense of verbs and "g" for -ing;
"s" was added to nouns for their plural; some words added "b" forable. A couple of simple examples of text are given here.
Example of 188 letters reduced to 116 (?) 61.7%:-
"T DCN CD MEAN T END F UNPRECEDENTED TWO Y CDY BTL, T FS D US X A SURROGATE MOTHER WS TKN TO TRL FO BACKING OUT O AN AGM TO TURN OV A CHILD SHE BORE UND CAK." Translated into normal text, it says:-
"The decision could mean the end of the unprecedented two year custody battle, the first in the United States in which a
surrogate mother was taken to trial for backing out of an agreement to turn over a child she bore under contract."
AB about GG going S send
ABV above GTG getting SAF soon as feasible
ADZ advise GV give
AF after GM gentleman SAP soon as possible
AG again
AJ adjust H has SD should
ANR another HD had SED said
AR answer HM him SES says
AX ask HR here, hear SM some
AY any HS his SMG something
AYG anything HV have SM somehere
AYM any more HW how SN soon
SNC since
B be ICW in connection SPL special
BC because with STN station
BD board IM immediately SVL several
BF before INVG investigate
BH both IX it is T the
BK break TGH telegraph
BN been KW know TGR together
BTN between TI time
BTR better LV leave TK take
TM them
C see M more TNK think
CCN conclusion MK make TRU through
CD could MSG missing TS this
CK check MSJ message TT that
CKT circuit MSR measure TTT that the
CL call TW tomorro
CLO close TY they
CLR clear N not
CMB combine NA name U you
CNG change NF notify UN until
CT connect NI night UR your
CU current NTG nothing
CY copy NUM number VY very
NR near
D in the NV never W with
DD did NW now WD would
DT do not NX next WG wrong
DUX duplex WH which
OD order WI will
EMGY emergency OFS office WIN within
EQ equip OP operate WIT witness
EQPT equipment OTR other WK week
OV over WN when
F of the WO who
FD find PGH paragraph WR were
FJ found PLS please WS was
FM from WT what
FR for Q on the WY why
FT for the QK quick
FYI for your YA yesterday
information
G from the
GD good
In addition to these there were a large number of very short special abbreviations for phrases common in news releases, such
as for "President of the United States," etc. Usually these consisted of 3 - 5 letters, very brief.
A FEW USEFUL Z- SIGNALS
The Z-signals were developed and used for a time by some commercial operators. A few of them which might be useful to
amateurs are:-
ZCG local receiving conditions good
ZCP local receiving conditions poor
ZLS we are suffering from a lightning storm
ZSH static is heavy here
ZOK we are receiving OK
ZSR your sigs strong readable
ZGS your signals are getting stronger
ZWR your sigs weak but readable
ZFS your signals are fading slightly
ZVS signals varying in intensity
ZFB your signals are fading badly
ZGW your signals are getting weaker
ZSU your sigs are unreadable
ZAN we can receive absolutely nothing
ZUB we are unable to break you
ZVF your signals are varying in frequency
ZDH your dits are too heavy(long), please adjust
ZDL your dits are too light(short), please adjust
ZMO stand by a moment
ZMQ stand by for...
ZLB give long breaks
ZWO send words once
ZWT send words twice
ZSF send faster
ZSS send slower
ZTH send by hand
ZCS cease sending
ZAP acknowledge please
ZHC how are your receiving conditions?
ZRO are you receiving OK?
You will notice that these signals are much easier to remember than the Q-signals. The two letters following Z- are suggestive. (QST 1943 No p. 63)
In 1910 some wireless abbreviations were:
GA= go ahead, 4= please start me, where..., 13= understand,
25= am busy now, 30= no more, 77= message for you, 99= keep out!
The Art &Skill of Radio-Telegraphy
©William G. Pierpont N0HFF
This page last updated August 02, 1998
Modifications and compile by Thom LaCosta - K3HRN - December 2004